Compare Inca Trail Express from Lima by Intrepid Travel vs Tailored tours to Nazca Lines, Rainbow Mountain, Machu Picchu by Conde Travel

Day 1 Lima

Bienvenidos! Welcome to Peru. With Indigenous cultures dating back millennia, this country is a fascinating land of Amazonian rainforests, diverse wildlife and soaring mountains. Your adventure begins in Lima with a welcome meeting at 2 pm at your hotel in Lima. After, head downtown for a guided walking tour of the city's historical centre to take in the colonial mansions, palaces and churches that line the streets. Then, you’ll have the rest of the afternoon free. Wander around the city until night falls, then embark on an optional Lima Bites and Sights Tour with Urban Adventures, taking you to the bohemian Barranco district to sample the best local street food and Pisco cocktails.  

Day 2 Cusco (3450m)

This morning after breakfast, you’ll fly to Cusco. When you arrive, you’ll have a second welcome meeting at 2 pm where you'll meet your next group of fellow travellers (some people will probably start this trip in Cusco, rather than Lima). After, get acquainted with this charming city and its intriguing blend of cultures on a leader-led walking tour. Check out some of Cusco's main attractions, as well as its lesser-known sights, such as the Qoricancha temple, San Pedro market, the main square, the 12 Angled Stone, Regocijo Square and San Blas Square. Tonight is free to explore at your own pace or find the perfect dinner spot with your group and try some local Peruvian favourites.  

Day 3 Ollantaytambo

This morning, drive through the Sacred Valley. Known as Wilcamayo to the Incas, the valley has been a source of livelihood for the locals for hundreds of years. You’ll see maize crops covering the terraced walls and the sacred river beneath. Stop for lunch in a local community, where you'll also get the chance to learn about their traditional lifestyle and maybe wrap your tongue around a few words of the Quechua language. If it’s market day, you'll have time to browse the local handicrafts on offer, such as beads and ponchos. Then, visit the AMA Restaurant in Urubamba for afternoon tea – this café is dedicated to working with single mothers throughout the Sacred Valley, where there are few opportunities for childcare and employment. As all the ingredients used here are grown and purchased locally, the establishment also prides itself on its organic and locally focused practices. Enjoy a coffee, tea or juice with a slice of vegan beet cake or a homemade cookie and continue your journey to Ollantaytambo. Optional, Check out the town’s fascinating archaeological site – ancient remnants of an Inca city with soaring views over the present-day settlement.

Day 4 Inca Trail

Depending on the travel arrangements you made before the trip, during the next four days you’ll be either hiking the Inca Trail (Route 1), hiking the Quarry Trail (Route 2) or staying in Cusco for two days before taking the train to Aguas Calientes (Route 3). All routes visit Machu Picchu. While away from Cusco, the bulk of your luggage will be stored at your hotel. If you’re hiking the Inca Trail or the Quarry Trail, the evening before you leave you'll receive a small duffle bag to carry your clothes in for the next four days (5 kg maximum). Your team of porters will carry these bags for you, together with the food and equipment for the trail. You won't have access to these items until the end of each day, as the porters will always be ahead of the group. If you’re travelling to Aguas Calientes by train, you'll be able to leave most of your luggage at the hotel in Cusco and travel with only a small bag for the overnight stay in Aguas Calientes. Route 1 Inca Trail Today, travel by minivan to the 82 km marker and meet your crew of local porters, your cook and your guide. Your first day will include uphill trekking to the campsite, which sits at 3100 m above sea level. On the way, you’ll see the Inca sites of Ollantaytambo, Huillca Raccay and Llactapata, as well as incredible views of snow-capped Veronica Peak. In the evening, unwind at the campsite with a nourishing meal prepared by your cook. Route 2 Quarry Trail Make an early start today and drive to Choquequilla, a small ceremonial place where Incas worshipped the moon. From here, you’ll head to the small community near Qory Song’o (Golden Heart) hill, where you’ll climb to the top for the incredible views of the Soqma Perolniyoc, Pachar and Huarocondo valleys. There are also several sacred tombs in the area, protected by the locals, which you can explore with your leader and even see some of the original structures crafted from wood and leather. These remains have never been seen by travellers before, so you can be a part of this exclusive experience. Carry on to the Perolniyoc Cascade lookout, where you can stop for some snacks and photos. Arrive at the campsite, 3700 m above sea level, around lunchtime. After, set off to explore the Q'orimarca archaeological site, which once served as a checkpoint to the Incas. Route 3 Cusco: After spending the night in Ollantaytambo, take a short drive to the town of Pisac. Pisac is well known for its market. Here you’ll have the opportunity to shop for souvenirs and perhaps try some local empanadas. Arrive back at Cusco in the afternoon, where your leader will take you to San Pedro Market, where you have the option to buy some local favourites for a picnic tomorrow.

Day 5 Inca Trail

Route 1 Inca Trail This is the most challenging day of the trek, as you ascend a 5-hour long steep path to reach the highest point of the trail. Colloquially known as 'Dead Woman's Pass', Warmiwanusca sits at a height of 4200 m above sea level, providing amazing views of the valley below. The group will then descend to the campsite in the Pacaymayo Valley at 3650 m. Route 2 Quarry Trail This is the most challenging and rewarding day of the hike. A 3-hour walk takes you to the top of the first pass of Puccaqasa, about 4370 m high. After enjoying the picturesque views of the valley, it’s a short walk before stopping for lunch. After, make the 2-hour hike to Kuychicassa, the highest pass of the trek at 4450 m. From here, descend to the sacred site that the Incas called Intipunku. This is a sun gate, where the sun will stream through at particular times of the year and there are views of the Nevado Veronica mountain year-round. The Incas built several sun gates, the most notable overlooking Machu Picchu. Head to the campsite, only a stone’s throw away and at 3600 m. Route 3 Cusco Today, take a taxi to Tambomachay, an archaeological site just outside of Cusco. From here you’ll take a 2 to 3 hours walk back to Cusco. On the way, stop to admire some of the archaeological sites, including Puka Pukara, Quenqo and Saksaywaman. Arrive back in Cusco in the early afternoon and enjoy some free time. Maybe visit the Merida, Mendivil and Olave art galleries and workshops before finding a great spot to sit down and enjoy some dinner.

Day 6 Inca Trail

Route 1 Inca Trail Start the day with a climb through the Pacaymayo Valley to Runkuracay Pass at 3980 m. Enjoy views of the snow-capped mountain of Cordillera Vilcabamba before descending for around 2 to 3 hours to the ruins of Sayacmarca. Continue over the trail’s third pass to the ruins of Phuyupatamarca at 3850 m, also known as the 'Town Above the Clouds'. Start the 2-hour descent down the Inca steps to the final night's campsite by the Winay Wayna archaeological site. Route 2 Quarry Trail Today’s hike will all be downhill. The first stop is the incomplete Kachiqata quarry, where the Incas were intercepted by the Spanish. Explore the cobbled streets of Ollantaytambo when you finish your trek. This is where you’ll meet with the travellers in your group who didn't hike, before taking the short train journey to Aguas Calientes.Spend the night in a hotel before tomorrow’s visit to Machu Picchu. Route 3 Train to Aguas Calientes After a 1.5-hour drive to Ollantaytambo. This is where you’ll meet up with the travellers in your group who hiked the Quarry Trail. You’ll catch a 1.5-hour train through the winding Urubamba Valley to Aguas Calientes. The city is nestled in the cloud forest at the foot of Machu Picchu. Spend the night in a hotel before tomorrow’s visit to Machu Picchu.

Day 7 Cusco

Route 1 Inca Trail This is the final and most spectacular leg of the trek to Machu Picchu – one of the famed Wonders of the World. The day starts before dawn, with breakfast at 4 am. Say farewell to the porters as they descend to the train station and begin hiking. Once the final checkpoint opens at 5 am, you’ll begin the final 2.5 hour trek to Intipunku (the Sun Gate). Weather permitting, you’ll enjoy unforgettable views over the ‘Lost City of the Incas’ as you enter Machu Picchu through the Sun Gate. Route 2 and 3 Machu Picchu to Cusco Take an early bus up to Machu Picchu at 6.00 am. The city was built around 1440 AD as a country retreat for the Incan nobility, but there’s evidence that the land had been a sacred Incan site for much longer. Take a guided tour around the ruins of temples, palaces and living quarters. This is a day to remember! For all travellers, after taking advantage of the seemingly endless photo opportunities, it's time to catch the bus to Aguas Calientes, where you’ll stop for lunch together. From here, take a scenic train ride to Ollantaytambo, then drive back to Cusco, arriving in the evening.

Day 8 Cusco

Your trip comes to an end today, and there are no activities planned. If you’d like to stay longer, just speak to your booking agent. You may want to consider purchasing a Boleto Turistico (tourism ticket) It gains access to the many fascinating museums here, such as the Contemporary Art Museum, Regional History Museum and Qosqo Native Art Museum. Please speak with your tour leader about this for more details.

DAY 1: ARRIVAL IN LIMA – CITY TOUR

When you arrive to Lima, we transfer you from the airport to your hotel. At 12.30 we will pick you up to take a city tour with a duration of four hours approx. We will start the tour with visiting San Martin Plaza and Jiron de la Union which is a fascinating boulevard that leads to the Plaza de Armas, the main plaza. Next is the Monastery of San Francisco, a World Heritage Site. This monastery is renowned for its Spanish Baroque architecture .The first cemetery of Lima –the Catacombs- is hidden underneath these monastery floors. Our driver will take you to your hotel where you will have the rest of the day at your leisure.

DAY 2: LIMA – CARAL

Today, we will travel to the oldest city in the Americas! Early in the morning, we will pick you up from your hotel in Lima to drive to the Valley of Supe. Along the route there are many villages, agricultural areas and beautiful sights of the Peruvian coast. When we arrive, we will start with a guided tour through the complex about the many archaeological discoveries that have been made in this area. You’ll witness the 6 pyramids, an amphitheatre and a temple. It is believed that this area was first inhabited between 2000 and 2600 BCE. After the 2-hour-tour we will go to the city of Huacho where we will have lunch. Then we will start our journey back to Lima, where you’ll spend the night.

DAY 3: LIMA – PARACAS

Today, you have the morning and afternoon at your leisure to explore the city. After breakfast you are free to see the many beautiful sights in the city. Check out the beautiful Parque Del Amor in Miraflores, the many museums, take a bike ride along the coast, or eat at one of the many culinary hotspots the city has to offer. In the afternoon, we will pick you up from your hotel to drive for approximately 4 hours to Paracas where we will spend the night.

DAY 4: PARACAS – BALLESTAS ISLANDS – NAZCA

In the morning, after breakfast, we go to the Chaco Harbor in Paracas. Here, we will begin a remarkable boat trip to the Ballestas Islands, three small islands filled with wildlife just a few minutes from the coast. On the journey to the islands, we will be able to see the “Candelabro”, a giant hieroglyph in the shape of a candleholder. When we arrive to the Ballestas Islands, we will stay on the boat while observing the frenzy of amazing animals including noisy but playful furred seals and sea lions, as well as a huge number of sea birds including, Humbolt penguins, pelicans, tendrils, Inca terns, Peruvian boobys, red legged cormorants and guanays. After our tour of the islands, we will have lunch and start our journey to Nazca where we spend the night.

DAY 5: NAZCA LINES FLIGHT – HUACACHINA – LIMA

After breakfast in your hotel, we will transfer you to the airport from where we are going to take a 50 minute flight over the incredible Nazca Lines. During this flight over the Nazca Lines, we will be able to see the most fascinating figures such as: the monkey, hummingbird, tree, parrot, astronaut, dog, condor and others. After our flight, we will have enough time to have lunch before we drive to Ica where we will visit the beautiful Huacachina Oasis. Lined with palm trees, the blue-green oasis is surrounded by sand dunes on which you can have a wild, unforgettable sand buggy ride and sand-boarding adventure. After this adventure in the Peruvian desert, our private transportation will take us back to Lima where you will stay in a hotel for the night.

DAY 6: ARRIVAL TO CUSCO – LEISURE DAY

After breakfast, a Machu Travel Peru staff member will pick you up from the hotel and escort you to Lima International Airport where you will take a flight to Cusco. This flight will only take one hour and ten minutes. You will have the rest of the day to yourself to explore this beautiful city. Because of the altitude difference with Lima it is recommended to take plenty of rest and drink coca tea to acclimatise. 

DAY 7: SACRED VALLEY VIP TOUR

An amazing tour awaits us today. We will start our VIP excursion through the Sacred Valley of the Incas in Chinchero, where we will join a traditional weaving workshop. This village is mainly comprised of mud brick (adobe) houses and the locals still go about their businesses in traditional dress. The walls and roofs of this town are covered in beautiful floral and religious designs. We will be part of the most remarkable textile hand making shows and see great presentations made by locals. We continue with a guided tour to the non-traditional Moray circuit, a unique archaeological group that is one of a kind. The gigantic circular depressions in the ground surface, with their respective irrigation canals were believed to be an agriculture investigation centre of the Inca’s. Then we drive to the salt mines located 7 km from Moray, pass through a typical Spanish village called Maras. To the northwest of the town of Maras, we will find around 2000 small wells that local people still use today to provide themselves with salt. Then we go to the next stop, Urubamba, where we will enjoy a great lunch. Afterwards we continue to Ollantaytambo where you’ll have the rest of the night at your leisure and spend the night in a hotel.

DAY 8: INCA TRAIL – OLLANTAYTAMBO – CHACHABAMBA – WIÑAYHUAYNA – AGUAS CALIENTES

Early in the morning after breakfast we will transfer you from your hotel to the train station. We will take the train around 6.10 am make sure to be there at least 30 minutes in advance. The train ride will last for about 1.5 hours until we reach kilometre 104 where we start our trek. The guide will direct you on foot to the ruins of Chachabamba where the tour will begin. From there the journey will continue and we will pass a small and refreshing waterfall on the way to the ruins of Winay Wayna where the impressive platforms will demonstrate the skill of Andean engineering. After lunch we will continue the walk to Inti Punku (Puerta del Sol) from where we will have the first sight of Machu Picchu as a beautiful panoramic of the town on the hill. From here we will take the bus to Aguas Calientes where we will spend the night, have dinner and prepare for the following day up at Machu Picchu.

DAY 9: MACHU PICCHU – AGUAS CALIENTES – OLLANTAYTAMBO – CUSCO

At 5:30 am, after breakfast, we begin the trek to Machu Picchu where we will have a guided tour of the different sectors of the archaeological complex tour, including the Intihuatana or sundial, used by ancient Peruvians settlers. Afterwards you’ll have some free time to explore the sites for yourself. To climb the mountain of Huayna Picchu (optional), you can choose the 2nd group 10:00 a.m. The walk takes only about an hour, and it’s absolutely worth it, the view is breath taking and the experience will be unforgettable. At a given time we take the bus down from Machu Picchu to Aguas Calientes and board the train of 6.00 pm (it is also possible to reserve a train earlier) back to Ollantaytambo and then go by bus to Cusco.

For the end of your tour we have two different options: if you like trekking than there is the combination of 2 tours in the Cusco area and the famous Rainbow Mountain. The Rainbow Mountain tour is more challenging because of the altitude and the amount of walking. The second option is a 3 day tour to the jungle in Tambopata, with the option to extend to a fourth day if you skip the 6^th day of free time in Cusco.

OPTION 1:     

DAY 10: South circuit & Cusco City Tour

We will pick you up from your hotel at 8.30, heading south towards Puno. Approximately 45 min from the city of Cusco, we find the archaeological site Tipon. At Tipon we can appreciate the Inka terraces, construction of ruins on ancestral grounds and also creations of hydraulic irrigation canals from Inka time. After that we will continue to Lake Huaqarpay, a protected area at the top of a plateau in the Andean town of Pikillaqta, which is a pre-Inca citadel built by the Wari culture. The last point that we will visit is Andahuaylillas, a village with a small chapel known as the Rome of America, where we see paintings by renowned painters from Cusco, massive ceilings and pristine architecture. Finally, we return to Cusco where we arrive at 12.30. In the afternoon, our city tour of Cusco will begin, between at 13.10. First, we will visit the Cathedral of Cusco, located on the Plaza de Armas. Then our tour will continue to Qorikancha (The Temple of the Sun) and the Convent of Santo Domingo as well as to several of the city’s impressive archaeological ruins such as Sacsaywaman, Qenqo, Pukapukara, and Tambomachay. Our tour will finish at the main square. At this time, you might like to enjoy a tasty dinner in one of the many nearby restaurants. Alternatively, we can arrange to drop you off at your hotel. Just tell your guide what you are in the mood to do.

DAY 11: RAINBOW MOUNTAIN

We will pick you up from your hotel at 3:00am and head south through the town of Urco to the Cecacupe District (2 hours by bus). We continue along the road through small villages until we arrive to the community of Hanchipata - Quesuino (1 hour and 20 minutes by bus), the ideal starting point to walk the route. We follow the path to Pitumarca where we’ll have breakfast. We will see many mountains such as Ausangate, beautiful blue lagoons, and many other natural sites. The walk to Vinicunca (Rainbow Mountain) will last approximately 3 hours. At this peak we will savour the view for about an hour taking photos of the beautiful scenery before descending the path back to Pitumarca to have lunch and return to Quesuino to our bus. It will take 2.5 hours to drive back to Cusco.

OPTION 2:     

ITINERARY

DAY 10: MONTE AMAZONICO LODGE – TAMBOPATA

Early in the morning after breakfast we will transfer you to the airport of Cusco where to board a 1-hour-flight to Puerto Maldonado. When you arrive, you will be transferred to the office of Monte Amazoníco Lodge. You will meet a representative of our agency who will give a final briefing about your tour before you leave for your adventure. It is difficult to transport large luggage, so we suggest that you carry just what is needed for the trip. You will travel for about 2 hours by a 4-wheel-drive truck to a destination on the banks of the Tambopata River. From this here, you will take a boat to the lodge "Monte Amazoníco – Tambopata” where you will be welcomed with a lunch. In the afternoon, you will take an introductory walk into the rainforest where you will have the opportunity to see many animals in their natural habitat. You may see amphibians, mammals, reptiles, birds and wonderful insects. In the evening we’ll have dinner at the lodge and rest. 

DAY 11: MACAW CLAY LICK – CHUNCHO CLAY LICK

We wake up very early, at 4:30 am, to go on an incredible journey by boat to the world's largest macaw clay lick; El Chuncho. The journey takes about one and a half hours and on the way you will have the opportunity to see many animals such as capybaras (world's largest rodents), tapirs, and if you are lucky, the most beautiful South American feline; the jaguar. Many of our clients have witnessed and photographed encounters with these beautiful creatures. After arrival to the macaw clay licks, you will see hundreds of parrots of 11 different species come to eat clay adjacent to the river bank. From your chair, you will witness one of the most beautiful natural sights of birds in the world. There will be many parrots and the most colourful macaws of America: reds and greens, blues and yellows. They all come to gather to eat clay, a necessary part of their daily diet that helps them to eliminate toxins. On a good day of you will see hundreds of these wonderful animals flying over you. It is an experience of a lifetime. After our visit, we return to our lodge for breakfast and you’ll have some time to rest. Later in the morning, you will walk through the botanical garden in the company of our guide where you can learn about the fruits, trees and medicinal plants in the area. After lunch, we follow the same route back to Puerto Maldonado where you will be transferred to the airport or bus station.

DAY 12: END OF TOUR

Today our tour concludes. After breakfast we will transfer you back to the airport as you will be on your way home or your next travel destination.